COLUMBIANA, Ohio – At 22 years old, Dylan Fletcher is not waiting to make a positive impact on the community.
He joined the city’s planning commission at age 20 and was elected as a member of the Columbiana Exempted School District Board of Education at 21, all while continuing to take classes at Kent State University’s Salem and main campuses. He is majoring in business, with minors in psychology and health care management.
Fletcher, who credits the people who raised and educated him, was honored as the Young Citizen of the Year, one of seven awards given out Thursday morning at the Columbiana Area Chamber of Commerce’s 73rd annual Harvey Awards ceremony at The Barn at Firestone Farms.
Receiving the honor was a “surreal experience,” Fletcher said.
“I don’t know that I’m setting any sort of example, by any means,” Fletcher said. “But I hope that people seeing me in the spotlight, with doing some of these things … just inspires some of the next generation just to move up and get involved.”
The other award recipients are:
- Business Development: Brian Frederick, The Eldritch Bazaar.
- Business of the Year: Garwood Arena, Justin Garwood and Ashley Tyler.
- Citizen of the Year: Michael Clark.
- Educator of the Year: Amanda Moore, Joshua Dixon Elementary School.
- Unsung Hero: Taylor Yuhanick and Katie King.
- Young Entrepreneur of the Year: Lilly Quetot, Main Street Aesthetics.
Adam Hickman, the keynote speaker for the event, reminded business leaders that there are four needs of their followers: trust, compassion, stability and hope.
Hickman, a Crestview graduate who has traveled the world working for companies like AT&T, Gallup and Partners Federal Credit Union, serving the Walt Disney Co., said he sees a lot of leadership skills in the Mahoning Valley.
“There’s always a sense of pride when you’re from here,” Hickman said. “You saw it in the room today, that everybody that popped up there was saying they don’t deserve the award. That to me is a learned behavior from others, which means they’ve got great leaders in place.”
Greg Smith, Compco Industries board chairman, presented the awards.
“I think Adam [Hickman] would agree with me that the humility and the desire to serve and help people is oozing out of all these honorees,” Smith said. “And I’m just proud to be part of that. … We want to raise up the honorees for their service, their leadership and dedication to our community.”
Zach King, executive director of the Columbiana Area Chamber of Commerce, pointed out that individuals who are honored often fly under the radar in the community.
“They silently work. They bring people together. They collaborate. They work countless hours to be able to serve a community, to serve the people, to grow their business and to contribute,” King said. “To see them brought into the spotlight just for this time of year is spectacular because we want to honor and recognize what they do, and we want to be able to have other people support them in that way.”
The Harvey Awards are “truly inspirational,” said Guy Coviello, president and CEO of the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber.
“To think about how Harvey Firestone grew up here – think about how Harvey Firestone and Thomas Edison and Henry Ford would camp out here and exchange ideas and get to know each other,” Coviello said. “And then now here we are, 125 years after Firestone’s entire rubber company was founded, 73 years after the first Harvey Awards here, and we’re still carrying on a legacy – so truly inspirational.”
Coviello presented King with a check for $30,000, money raised at a Regional Chamber Foundation event Wednesday. Coviello said the funds will help assist with the affiliation between the two chambers, which officially began in January.
The Award Winners
Garwood started the Garwood Arena after deciding to have a rodeo event in 2017 inside a building constructed to raise cattle. Not only did that event sell out, but the arena now draws thousands to the area for rodeos and other equine events each year.
“Being part of Columbiana is a huge thing for us and our expansion,” Garwood said. “The town is right there. They have access to food, shopping, the antiques shops in town, the whole thing, the whole experience. … It’s a huge asset to what we have built here and the growth that we have had.”
Frederick said he did not start a business as much as a community. A place for gamers to go, spend time with others and connect. He spent much of his speech thanking his team members.
Quetot said she loves providing lash extensions, brows, body waxes and facials and enjoys the clients who come to her salon. She said she wants to support and educate others interested in learning the skills to provide those services.
Yuhanick and Katie King were honored for their work leading the “tinsel elves” who volunteer to decorate the Joy of Christmas ice castle and gingerbread house.
Moore has taught music, art and intervention reading classes at Joshua Dixon Elementary School and said her philosophy for teaching is that it should be fun and creative.
“My aim is to have the kids shine the best and the greatest,” Moore said. “They have a lot of stories to tell, and if you can make their life a little bit better because you were listening to them today or you were sharing something with them today, I call that an A-plus day.”
Clark said he shares the award with all the others who serve with him. He has been a school board member for more than a decade, an America250 committee member, a Joy of Christmas organizer and a member of the Columbiana Tourism Board.
“I believe wholeheartedly that in the communities that you live in, you should be actively involved,” Clark said.
Pictured at top: In the front row, from left, are Lilly Quetot, Amanda Moore, Ashley Tyler, Dylan Fletcher, Katie King and Taylor Yuhanick. In the middle row are Justin Garwood and Brian Frederick. In the back is Michael Clark.